Airplane.



244. AIZHUNAU I IUD 1.]. MURRAY.

AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I2. I91?- Patented Jail. 7, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 nmu: air an. mam-mu. 111mm. :1 c

244. AERONAUTIGS J. J. MURRAY.

AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12. 191T- Patentd Jan. 7, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR Jmurrra y WITNES ES 84 244. ALHUNAU l mo I. .I. MURRAY.

AIRPLANE. APPLICATION FILED luuiz'lz, 1917.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 4.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESSES 244. AERONAUTICS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES JOSEPH MURRAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AIRPLANE.

Application filed June 12,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES JOSEPH MUR- RAY, a citizen of the United States of Amen ica, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to airplanes for flying machines of the heavier than air type.

The broad object of the invention is to provide in conjunction with the body of a flying machine, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions extending laterally on opposite sides of the body, said supporting surface as a whole being pivotally mounted to tilt on a normally horizontal axis, combined with means for rocking or tilting said supporting surface to vary the angle of incidence thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for efficiently bracing or staying said supporting surface by arranging the stays in a manner so that they will not be disturbed nor their efficiency impaired by varying the angle of incidence of the supporting surface.

A further object in view is to provide novel and efficient means under the manual control of the aviator or operator of the machine for rocking or tilting the supporting surface to obtain the desired angle of incidence thereof under varying conditions, the arrangement enabling the operator to ascend quickly, at a comparatively steep angle, then flatten out the supporting surface so as to greatly accelerate the speed of the ma chine, and finally to increase the angle of incidence of the supporting surface in order to roduce additional head resistance and decrease the speed of the machine preparatory to effecting a safe landing. v

Another object of the invention is to provide in connection with the means for varying the angle of incidence of the supporting surface, means for equalizing the stress on the wing portions of the supporting surface when one wing portion is subjected to a sudden and pronounced lift such as is produced by a wind squall or by any other means which tends to produce a greater lifting force on one wing than on the other.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. *7, 1919.

1917'. Serial No. 174,346.

parts, herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a side elevation of an airplane embodying the present invention, illustrating by full and dotted lines the variation of the angle of incidence of the supporting surface;

Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a partial front elevation of the machine:

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a vertical fragmentary section on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal fragmentary section on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinlal section showing the controlling means; an

Fig. 9 is a fragmentarv vertical longitudinal section on the same line as Fig. 5, shpiwing modified means for actuating the vo e.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention in the preferred embodiment thereof, I have shown the same applied to a tractor flying machine comprising the body 1, tractor propeller 2, tail structure 3, landing base 4, and a single aerial supporting surface 5. It will of course be understood however as the description proceeds that more than a single supporting surface 5 may be employed as the construction of the improved features of this invention admits of the application of the same to machines of the monoplane, biplane or multiplane type.

In carrying out the present invention, the supporting surface 5 extends at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the body 1 and comprises wing portions 6 which extend laterally on opposlte sides of the body but which are rigidly connected together for equal and simultaneous rockin movement. The supporting surface 5 comprises bed rails 7 and 8 arranged one in-advance of the other as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The front bed rail 7 is mounted in stanchions 9 fixedly attached to the frame of the body 1 and extending a suitable distance above the top thereof as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4., the bed rail 7 being supported by and mounted to turn in bearings 10 at the top of said stanchions. The bed rail 8 located in rear of the bed rail'7 forms a part of the frame work of the supporting surface and moves upwardly and downwardly therewith as said supporting surface is rocked on the front bed rail 7 to vary or change the angle of incidence of said surface.

11 designates a mast which rises above andover the top of the supporting surface 5 and which, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, comprises downwardly diverging front legs 12 which are attached to the front bed rail 7, and other rearwardly sloping and downwardly diverging rear legs 13 which are attached to the bed rail 8. Therefore the mast 11 as a whole rocks with the supporting surface 5 as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 1. The stays 14 are attached at their upper extremities to the top of the mast 11 and extend therefrom laterally in opposite directions, their outer extremities being attached to ears 15 extending upwardly from ball bearing collars 16 loose on the front bed rail 7 and in which said bed rail is adapted to freely turn. The collars 16 are also provided with downwardly extending ears 17 from which stays 18 ex tend to apart of the frame of the machine, the same being shown as attached at 19 to bars 20 of the landing base 4. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be observed that two of such stays 18 are interposed between the bed rail 7 and the frame of the landing base, the said stays 18 diverging downwardly. It will also be understood by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 that other stays 14 and 18 corresponding with the stays 14 and 18 extend farther outward where they are attached to the supporting surface in the same manner as the stays 14 and 18, the number of said stays corresponding with the spread of the supporting surface.

Other ball bearing collars 21 loosely surround the rear bed rail 8 and are provided with the lugs or eyes 22 from which stays 23 extend toward the body and frame of the machine where they are attached at 24 to the opposite extremities of a stress equalizing member 25, and other stays 23 extend there from to flexible areas 23 of the wings of the supporting surface. The member 25 is connected by a central pivot 26 to a yoke 27 having two substantially parallel legs 28.

The means for raising and lowering the trailing portion of the supporting surface to vary the angle of incidence thereof, comprises the yoke 27 just hereinabove referred to, the legs 28 of said yoke being connected by ball bearing collars 29 to the rear bed rail 8. As shown in Fig. 4, the yoke 27 is formed to straddle the space within the body 1 occupied by the aviator so as to give ample leg and arm room. The legs 28 of the yoke are formed with rack faces 30 as shown in Fig. 6 and coiiperating with the rack faces 30 are pinions 31 fast on pinion shafts 32. Each pinion shaft is mounted in a combined yoke guide and gear housing 33 made in separable sections secured together by fastening means 34 as shown in Fig. 6. The housings 33 are fastened directly to and supported by a pair of master beams or main supporting bars 36. As shown in Fig. 5, each yoke leg 28 is slidable in a substantially vertical direction through the housing 33 and is maintained thereby in mesh with the pinion 32 which actuates the same. Fast on each pinion shaft 32 is a hand wheel 35 which as shown in Fig. 4 is within convenient reach of the operator. The operator may thus grasp both of the hand wheels 35 and turn the same to actuate the yoke 27 and thereby change the angle of incidence of the supporting surface. A cross stay 37 extends between and is connected at its extremities to the bars 20 of the landing base as shown in Fig. 3 and serves to prevent the spreading apart of said frame bars 20 by the action of the stays 18. The cross stay 37 is illustrated as formed in two sections connected at their inner ends to an eye 38 or the equivalent thereof on the under side of the body 1. The aviators seat 39 and the observers seat 40 are arranged centrally within the body 1, one in advance of the other as indicated in the drawings. The master ribs 41 of the supporting surface carry abutment blocks 42 against which the collars 16 bear so as to sustain the stress imposed upon the stays which are ordinarily in the form of wire cables.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will now be understood that the supporting surface is capable of being rocked or tilted on anormally horizontal axis extending at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the body and the normal line of flight of the machine. In the initial portion of the run of the machine preparatory to ascending in actual flight, the supporting surface may be positioned as shown by full lines in Fig. 1 so as to ofier comparatively little head resistance. As soon as the machine has attained the necessary velocity, the aviator may depress the trailing edge of the supporting surface as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 thereby causin the machine to leave the ground and begin its ascent. After the desired altitude is attained, the aviator may return the supporting surface to the full line position shown in Fig. 1 or to any desired angle of incidence thereby obtaining the maximum speed in flight in accordance with the weight of the machine and the load carried thereby. Preparatory to landing, the aviator may again depress the trailing edge of the supporting surface so as to increase the angle Z44- ALIiUNAU l lbb of incidence thereof and simultaneously the head resistance, thereby causing the machine to materially slow down in its speed and enable the aviator to make a safe landing at comparatively low speed.

The machine as illustrated comprises the usual vertical rudder 43, and horizontal rudder 44. The engine, not shown, will be mounted upon and supported by the master beams 36 to which the landing base is also fastened and to which the main medial struts or stanchions 9 are fastened. The construction just referred to removes unnecessary strains from the frame of the body 1.

It will be observed that by connecting the stays for the rear bed rail 8 directly to the equalizing member 25 and indirectly to the yoke 27, as the yoke 27 moves upwardly and downwardly, the equalizing member 25 is carried with it and also the stays 25. Therefore the stays 23 are not disturbed in their relation to the supporting surface and the rear bed rail 8, enabling them to efiiciently perform their functions under any and all variations or changes in the angle of incidence of the supporting surface.

45 designates the hand control wheel mounted fast on a steering shaft 46 having secured fixedly to the lower end thereof a pulley 47 which receives the control cables or other connections leading to the vertical rudder 43. The shaft 46 is journaled in a steering column 48 of tubular construction having a swivel connection by means of a stud shaft 49 with a fitting 50 which is fixedly secured to a transversely extending horizontal rock shaft 51, the latter being journaled at its opposite extremities in brackets 52 secured to and extending from the vertical portions or arms 28 of the yoke 27. Secured in fixed relation to the steering column 48 is a cross head 53 shown in its proper position in Fig. 4 but illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 8 at right angles to its normal position, for the sake of convenience. The oppositely extending arms of the cross head 53 have attached thereto connections 54, said connections being attached at their opposite extremities to the equalizer 25 as shown in Fig. 4. It will be observed by reason of the construction just described that by turning the wheel 45, the vertical rudder is operated; by moving the wheel 45 toward or away from the operator, the rock shaft 51 is turned in a corresponding direction for controlling the horizontal rudder, the rock shaft 51 having arms 55 from which wires or other connections 56 lead to the horizontal rudder 44. By moving the wheel 45 laterally to either side, a corresponding rocking movement is imparted to the equalizer 25 thereby pulling on the stays or cables 23 at one side of the machine and relaxing the cables at the other side thereof.

This results in warping the trailing portions of the wings of the supporting surface for the purpose of controlling the lateral balance or equilibrium of the machine. Thus by means of the center hand wheel 45, the balancing and directional surfaces of the machine are controlled.

In lieu of the hand wheels 35 for operating the yoke 27, hereinabove described, the operating means illustrated in Fig. 9 may be employed, wherein it will be seen that I may use a pair of hand levers 57 each carrying a sector gear 58 which meshes with the teeth 30 of the adjacent portion 28 of the yoke 27. Each lever 57 is pivotally mounted at 59 and carries a thumb latch 60 to engage an arcuate rack 61 fastened to the adjacent master beam 36.

It is to be understood that the Wings have flexible areas controlled by the stays 23 for lateral balancing.

I claim 1. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, and manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said supporting surface having bed rails arranged one in advance of the other, one of said bed rails being movable up and down, and stays connected with said bed rails and having such connection with the body that their relation to the bed rails is not disturbed by varying the angle of incidence of the supporting surface, a mast having fixed relation to said supporting surface and rising therefrom and adapted to rock in a fore and aft direction, and other stays extending in opposite directions from said mast and fastened to said wing portions, said mast having legs attached to both of said bed rails.

2. Inan airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, and manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said supporting surface having bed rails arranged one in advance of the other, one of said bed rails being movable up and down, and stays connected with said bed rails and having such connection with the body that their relation to the bed rails is not disturbed by varying the angle of incidence of the supporting surface, a mast having fixed relation to said supporting surface and rising therefrom and adapted to rock in a fore and aft direction, and other stays connecting said mast and supporting surface, said mast being arranged wholly above the supporting surface and embodying a plurality of legs attached to front and rear rails.

3. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said means comprising a yoke attached to said supporting surface, yoke raising and lowering means, a stress equalizing member attached to said yoke, and stays connecting said equalizing member with the supporting surface.

4:. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions having flexible areas and extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said means comprisinga yoke attached to said supporting surface, yoke raising andlowering means, a stress equalizing member pivotally connected with said yoke, stays connecting said equalizing member with the flexible areas of the wing portions of the supporting surface, and manually controlled means for rocking said equalizing member.

5. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said means comprising a yoke attached to said supporting surface, yoke raising and lowering means, a stress equalizing member attached to said yoke, and stays connecting said equalizing member with the supporting surface.

6. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embody ing wing portions having flexible areas and extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said means comprising a yoke connected with said supporting surface, yoke raising and lowering means, a stress equalizing member connected with the flexible areas of the wing portions of the supporting surface, and manually controlled means for rocking said equalizing member.

7. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying Wing portions having flexible areas and extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the Whole of said supporting surface, said means comprising a yoke attached to said supporting surface, yoke raising and lowering means, a stress equalizing member pivotally attached to said yoke, stays connecting said equalizing member with the flexible areas of the wing portions of the supporting surface, manually controlled means for rocking said equalizing member, the last named means embodying a steering column mounted for rocking move ment in a lateral direction, a cross head carried by said steering column, and connections between the extremities of said cross head and said equalizing member.

8. In an airplane, the combination of a body, an aerial supporting surface embodying wing portions having flexible areas and extending laterally on opposite sides of said body, manually operable means for varying the angle of incidence of the whole of said supporting surface, said means comprising a yoke attached to said supporting surface, yoke raising and lowering means, a stress equalizing member pivotally attached to said yoke, stays connecting said equalizing member with the flexible areas of the wing portions of the supporting surface, manually controlled means for rocking said equalizing member,the last named means embodying a steering column mounted for rocking movement in a lateral direction, a cross head carried by said steering coluimi, connections between the extremities of said cross head and said equalizing member, a normally horizontal rock shaft by which said steering column is carried, and horizontal rudder operating connections controlled by said rock shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

J AMES JOSEPH MURRAY.

(Topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D; O. 

